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Racism
The original black-skinned Jynx design and source of the controversy.
The original black-skinned Jynx design and source of the controversy.

This original design of the Pokémon Jynx (seen to the right) bore a striking, but possibly coincidental, resemblance to entertainers in blackface. A strong case can be made for Jynx being a parody of or homage to the Japanese Ganguro and Yamanba fashion trends, which were extremely popular when Pokémon was first released. Blackface-influenced characters have appeared elsewhere in anime and manga - examples can be found near the beginning of Osamu Tezuka's early graphic novel, Metropolis and also can be found with Dragon Ball Z's Mr. Popo.

As Pokémon became more popular in the United States, this perceived similarity to a racist image from the United States' past offended some. In particular, it offended children's book author Carole Boston Weatherford, who accused Jynx of being a racist stereotype in an article titled "Politically Incorrect Pokémon" in the magazine Black World Today, shortly after the anime episode Holiday Hi-Jynx aired.[citation needed] As a result, later episodes of the anime which feature Jynx were either banned or edited in the United States.

In 2002, in response to this controversy, Nintendo changed Jynx's face from black to purple and its hands from blue to purple in the video game series, a change which would be reflected in the anime three years later.[citation needed]